On the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, I have tried to state as concisely as possible my political platform—and, I hope, that of many other decent people as well. 15 points from a Russian citizen who wants what is best for his country. What was it, and what is it now? 1. President Putin unleashed an unjust war of aggression against Ukraine under absurd pretexts. He is desperately trying to give this war the status of a “people’s war,” seeking to make all Russian citizens his accomplices, but these attempts are failing. There are almost no volunteers for this war, so Putin’s army relies on prisoners and forcibly mobilized men. 2. The real reasons for the war are Russia’s internal political and economic problems, Putin’s determination to hold on to power at any cost, and his obsession with his place in history. He wants to go down in history as a “tsar-conqueror” and a “gatherer of lands.” 3. Tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians have been killed, and pain and suffering have been inflicted on millions. War crimes have been committed. Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure have been destroyed. 4. Russia is suffering a military defeat. It is precisely this realization that changed the authorities’ rhetoric from “Kyiv in three days” to hysterical threats to use nuclear weapons in the event of defeat. The lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been senselessly wasted. A final military defeat can be delayed at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands more mobilized men, but overall it is inevitable. The combination of “aggressive war + corruption + incompetent generals + a weak economy + the heroism and high motivation of those defending themselves” can produce only one result: defeat. The Kremlin’s false and hypocritical calls for negotiations and a ceasefire are nothing more than a realistic assessment of the prospects of continued military action. (To be continued on the blog at navalny.com)